Cylindrical cement pedestals, commonly used for supporting light poles and the like, have a flat top with a beveled, circular edge. Commercial practice is to use the cylindrical form into which the cement is to be poured. A typical form may have a diameter of about 24 inches. A rubber strip, having a triangular cross-section, is nailed to the inside of the form at the pedestal height. The cement is then poured into the form to the height of the rubber strip. When the cement has hardened, the form, together with the rubber strip, is peeled from the pedestal. The rubber strip is expensive. Installing the strip is also expensive because of the installation time required.
Some cement finishing tools are known in the prior art for forming a beveled edge in cement work. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,634 which was issued Aug. 30, 1988 to Louis DeVitis; U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,097 which was issued Apr. 12, 1988 to Joseph A. Cotugno; U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,970 which was issued Jun. 2, 1987 to John F. Perry; U.S. Pat. No. 2,419,167 which was issued Apr. 15, 1947 to Cyrus Sanford; U.S. Pat. No. 1,347,938 which was issued Jul. 27, 1920 to H. F. Conelly and U.S. Pat. No. 460,645 which was issued Oct. 6, 1891 to Martin Maurer.
The DeVitis patent shows a hand tool with a circular plate-like body with a downward turned lip intended to be used for shaping the exterior corner of a cement surface. Generally, such devices employ a thin plate-like body having a downturned lip. The Conelly tool appears to be made from a relatively thick body or perhaps of a casting.